Recording and reproducing apparatus, recording and reproducing method, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

When the user designates the reproduction of searching audio data, the designated searching audio data and audio volume data are read from a searching data recording portion. The searching audio data is reproduced corresponding to the audio volume data. When the user designates the reproduction of main audio data, the selected audio data is read from a disc and reproduced. In addition, number-of-reproduction-times data, audio volume data, audio quality data, and time period data for the designated main audio data that are updated in the searching data storing portion. The searching audio data corresponding to the designated main audio data is read from the disc corresponding to the audio quality data and the time period data and recorded to the searching data storing portion.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a recording and reproducing apparatusthat uses a storage medium, in particular, to a recording andreproducing apparatus, a recording and reproducing method, and a storagemedium that allow the user to search a plurality of data stored thereonfor his or her desired data.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, a recording and reproducing apparatus that uses astorage medium can search a plurality of audio data stored in thestorage medium for a user's desired audio data. For example, in theconventional recording and reproducing apparatuses, two searchingmethods are mainly used. In the first searching method, the user inputsa keyword corresponding to his or her desired audio data so as todesignate the his or her desired audio data. In the second searchingmethod, the user selects his or her desired audio data from datadisplayed on a display portion of the recording and reproducingapparatus.

However, when the number of audio data stored in the storage medium isas large as several thousand songs or several ten thousand songs and theuser forgot keywords, titles thereof, or the like, he or she cannotsearch them for his or her desired audio data.

In addition, when titles of several thousand songs are listed on thedisplay, since they do not appear on the display at a time, the usershould scroll the screen for searching them for his or her desired titleof audio data. Thus, in this searching method, a heavy burden isadversely imposed to the user.

In addition, since the user should non-intuitionally search for his orher desired data with only character information, the user should spenda long time.

Moreover, when the user searches a plurality of data on a SACD (SuperAudio CD) that has a plurality of data areas for user's desired audiodata, since a searching screen for each data area is not displayed,information of data areas that store data that the user does not need isdisplayed on the screen. Such data prevents the user from easilysearching for his or her desired data. For example, when the usersearches data stored in a single density area for audio CM data and adouble density area for audio data for user's desired data, not onlyinformation of audio data, but also information of CM data are displayedon the searching screen. That causes the searching for user's desireddata to become troublesome.

In addition, since the conventional recording and reproducing apparatusis provided with only searching modes using title name and album name,the user cannot search for his or her desired audio data using a varietyof searching methods. For example, the user cannot search a storagemedium for his or her desired data in a searching mode that allows datato be recommended to the user.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide arecording and reproducing apparatus, a recording and reproducing method,and a storage medium that allow the user to easily search a large numberof audio data for his or her desired audio data without imposing a heavyburden to the user.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a recording andreproducing apparatus, a recording and reproducing method, and a storagemedium that allow the user to intuitionally search for his or herdesired audio data.

A third aspect of the present invention is to provide a recording andreproducing apparatus, a recording and reproducing method, and a storagemedium that allow the user to search for his or her desired audio datausing a variety of searching methods.

To solve the forgoing problems, the invention of claim 1 is a recordingand reproducing apparatus, comprising a storing means for storingpartial data corresponding to a part of each of a plurality of datastored in a storage medium, a designating means for designating adesired data from the plurality of data, a reproducing means for readingpartial data corresponding to data designated by the designating meansand reproducing partial data, a controlling means for causing thereproducing means to successively reproduce data according to a furtherdesignation for data by the designation means, a counting means forcounting a frequency of further designation, and an updating means forupdating partial data stored in the storing means corresponding to thecounted result.

The invention of claim 10 is a recording and reproducing apparatus,comprising a designating means for designating a desired data from astorage medium that stores a plurality of data and partial datacorresponding to a part of each of a plurality of data, a reproducingmeans for reading partial data corresponding to data designated by thedesignating means and reproducing partial data, a controlling means forcausing the reproducing means to successively reproduce data as thedesignating means further designates data, a counting means for countinga frequency of further designation, and an updating means for updatingpartial data stored in the storing means corresponding to the countedresult.

The invention of claim 19 is a recording and reproducing apparatus,comprising a storing means for storing partial data corresponding to apart of each of a plurality of data stored in a storage medium, adisplaying means for displaying symbols corresponding to the pluralityof data, a designating means for designating a symbol displayed on thedisplaying means so as to designate a desired data, a reproducing meansfor reading partial data corresponding to the designated data from thestoring means and reproducing partial data, a controlling means forcausing the reproducing means to successively reproduce data accordingto a further designation for data by designation means, a counting meansfor counting the frequency of further designation, and an updating meansfor updating the symbol corresponding to the counted result.

The invention of claim 26 is a recording and reproducing apparatus,comprising a storing means for storing partial data corresponding to apart of each of a plurality of data stored in a storage medium having aplurality of types of data areas, a displaying means for displayingsymbols corresponding to the plurality of data stored in each of thedata areas, a designating means for designating a symbol displayed onthe displaying means so as to designate a desired data, a reproducingmeans for reading partial data corresponding to the designated data fromthe storing means and reproducing partial data, and a controlling meansfor causing the reproducing means to successively reproduce dataaccording to a further designation for data by designation means.

The invention of claim 33 is a recording and reproducing method,comprising the steps of designating a desired data from a plurality ofdata, reading partial data corresponding to the designated data fromstoring means for storing partial data corresponding to a part of eachof a plurality of data stored in a storage medium and reproducingpartial data, successively reproducing data according to a furtherdesignation for data, counting a frequency of further designation, andupdating partial data stored in the storing means corresponding to thecounted result.

The invention of claim 34 is a recording and reproducing method,comprising the steps of designating a desired data from a storage mediumthat stores a plurality of data and partial data corresponding to a partof each of a plurality of data, reading partial data corresponding tothe designated data from a storage medium and reproducing partial data,successively reproducing data according to a further designation fordata, counting a frequency of further designation, and updating partialdata stored in the storing means corresponding to the counted result.

The invention of claim 35 is a recording and reproducing method,comprising the steps of displaying symbols corresponding to a pluralityof data, designating a symbol that is displayed so as to designate adesired data, reading partial data corresponding to the designated datafrom storing means for storing partial data corresponding to a part ofeach of the plurality of data stored in a storage medium and reproducingpartial data, successively reproducing data according to a furtherdesignation for data, counting a frequency of further designation, andupdating the symbol corresponding to the counted result.

The invention of claim 36 is a recording and reproducing method,comprising the steps of displaying symbols corresponding to a pluralityof data stored in a storage medium having a plurality of types of dataareas, designating a symbol that is displayed so as to designate adesired data, reading partial data corresponding to the designated datafrom storing means for storing partial data corresponding to a part ofeach of the plurality of data stored in the storage medium andreproducing partial data, and successively reproducing data according toa further designation for data.

The invention of claim 37 is a storage medium on which a program thatcauses a computer to execute a recording and reproducing method isstored, the method comprising the steps of designating a desired datafrom the plurality of data, reading partial data corresponding to thedesignated data from storing means for storing partial datacorresponding to a part of each of a plurality of data stored in astorage medium and reproducing partial data, successively reproducingdata according to a further designation for data, counting a frequencyof further designation, and updating partial data stored in the storingmeans corresponding to the counted result.

The invention of claim 38 is a storage medium on which a program thatcauses a computer to execute a recording and reproducing method isstored, the method comprising the steps of designating a desired datafrom a storage medium that stores a plurality of data and partial datacorresponding to a part of each of a plurality of data, reading partialdata corresponding to the designated data from storage medium andreproducing partial data, successively reproducing data according to afurther designation for data, counting a frequency of furtherdesignation, and updating partial data stored in the storing meanscorresponding to the counted result.

The invention of claim 39 is a storage medium on which a program thatcauses a computer to execute a recording and reproducing method isstored, the method comprising the steps of displaying symbolscorresponding to a plurality of data, designating a symbol that isdisplayed so as to designate a desired data, reading partial datacorresponding to the designated data from storing means for storingpartial data corresponding to a part of each of the plurality of datastored in a storage medium and reproducing partial data, successivelyreproducing data according to a further designation for data, counting afrequency of further designation, and updating the symbol correspondingto the counted result.

The invention of claim 40 is a storage medium on which a program thatcauses a computer to execute a recording and reproducing method isstored, the method comprising the steps of displaying symbolscorresponding to a plurality of data stored in a storage medium having aplurality of types of data areas, designating a symbol that is displayedso as to designate a desired data, reading partial data corresponding tothe designated data from storing means for storing partial datacorresponding to a part of each of the plurality of data stored in thestorage medium and reproducing partial data, and successivelyreproducing data according to a further designation for data.

As was described above, according to the present invention, therecording and reproducing apparatus has a storing means that storespartial data corresponding to a part of each of a plurality of datastored in a storage medium and number-of-reproduction-times data. Whenthe user designates his or her desired data, partial data correspondingto the designated data is read from the storing means and reproduced.When the user designates the continuation of the reproduction, data isread for the storage medium and the reproduction of data is continued.In addition, the number-of-reproduction-times data of data designated bythe user is updated. Data stored in the storing means are partly updatedcorresponding to the number-of-reproduction-times data. Thus, the usercan easily search the plurality of data stored in the storage medium forhis or her desired data while reproducing them.

In addition, according to the present invention, the storage mediumstores a plurality of data, partial data corresponding to a part of eachof the plurality of data, and number-of-reproduction-times data. Whenthe user designates the reproduction of his or her desired data, therecording and reproducing apparatus reads partial data corresponding tothe designated data from the storage medium and reproduces partial data.When the user designates the continuation of the reproduction, datacorresponding to the designated partial data is read from the storagemedium and the reproduction is continued. Thenumber-of-reproduction-times of data designated by the user is updated.In addition, data stored in the storing portion are partly updatedcorresponding to the number-of-reproduction-times data. Thus, the usercan easily search the plurality of data stored in the storage medium forhis or her desired data while reproducing them.

In addition, according to the present invention, the recording andreproducing apparatus has a storing means that stores partial datacorresponding to a part of each of a plurality of data stored in thestorage medium and number-of-reproduction-times data. Symbolscorresponding to the plurality of data stored in the storage medium aredisplayed corresponding to the number-of-reproduction-times data storedin the storing means. When the user designates a symbol that isdisplayed, partial data corresponding to the symbol is read from thestoring means and partial data that is read from the storing means isreproduced. When the user designates the reproduction, data is read andthe reproduction is continued. In addition, thenumber-of-reproduction-times data stored in the storing means isupdated. Thus, the user can easily search the plurality of data storedin the storage medium for his or her desired data using symbols that aredisplayed.

In addition, according to the present invention, the recording andreproducing apparatus has a storing means that stores partial datacorresponding to a part of each of a plurality of data stored in thestorage medium that has a plurality of types of data areas. Symbolscorresponding to data stored in the storage medium are displayed foreach data area. When the user designates a symbol that is displayed,partial data corresponding to the designated symbol is read from thestoring means and reproduced. When the user designates a symbol, datacorresponding to the designated symbol is read and the reproduction iscontinued. Thus, the user can easily search a large number of datastored in the storage medium for his or her desired data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an external view of a recordingand reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the structure of therecording and reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an outlined structure of a 3D jogaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining an operating method of the3D jog according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining a process for changing searchingaudio data corresponding to a reproducing frequency of audio dataaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining the operation and process of asystem controller that searches for audio data and reproduces thesearched data according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining a calculating process forcalculating the similarity of audio data that has the highestreproducing frequency and other audio data according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display screen ina recommend mode according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining a symbol displaying process of adisplay screen in the recommend mode according to the second embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display screen inthe recommend mode according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart for explaining a symbol displaying process of adisplay screen in the recommend mode according to the second embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining processes for searching for adesired audio data and reproducing the obtained audio data in therecommend mode according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display screen inthe recommend mode according to a modification of the second embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a searching screenin each searching mode according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a searching screenin each searching mode according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen thatdisplays audio data in each data area according to the third embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram for explaining a switching operation fordata areas by a three-dimensional jog according to the third embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram for explaining a switching operation forsearching mode display screens by the three-dimensional jog according tothe third embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 19 is a flow chart for explaining a search for a desired audio databy the three-dimensional jog according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of thepresent invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows an appearance of arecording and reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment ofthe present invention. The recording and reproducing apparatus comprisesa three-dimensional jog 2, a stop button 3, a rewind button 4, a recordbutton 5, a reproduction button 6, a fast forward button 7, a pausebutton 8, a volume controller 9, a display portion 10, and a powerswitch (not shown) that are disposed on a front panel portion 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the structure of therecording and reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment ofthe present invention. A disc 20 has a plurality of data areas.According to the first embodiment, the disc 20 has two data areas thatare for example a single density area and a double density area. In thesingle density area, for example PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) data isstored. In the double density area, for example compressed data isstored. Examples of the data compressing system is MP3 (MPEG-1 AudioLayer III), ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Cording), and AAC(Advanced Audio Cording). In this example, data stored in the disc 20are audio data.

Information about data stored in the disc 20 is displayed on the displayportion 10 corresponding to data supplied from a searching data storingportion 41, a storing portion 46, or the like. A panel portion of thedisplay portion 10 is for example a touch panel. When the user touchesthe panel portion of the display portion 10, he or she can selectinformation displayed on the display portion 10 and move a pointerdisplayed on the display portion 10.

The disc 20 is rotated and driven by a spindle motor 21. Data stored inthe disc 20 is read by an optical head 22. The data that is read fromthe disc 20 is supplied to a demodulating circuit 24 through an RFcircuit 23.

The demodulating circuit 24 demodulates the data supplied from the RFcircuit 23 and supplies the demodulated data to a speed controllingcircuit 25 and an ECC decoder 26. In addition, information about TOC(Table Of Contents) of the demodulated data that is output from thedemodulating circuit 24 is supplied to a system controller 40. Thesystem controller 40 uses the information about the TOC for variouscontrolling operations.

The speed controlling circuit 25 controls the speed of the disc 20corresponding to the data supplied from the demodulating circuit 24 (forexample, at constant linear velocity).

The ECC decoder 26 performs an error correcting process using CIRC(Cross Interleave Reed-Solomon code) and supplies the error-correctedaudio PCM data or compressed data to a data area selector 27. The ECCdecoder 26 places an error flag to data whose error could not becorrected and supplies the error-flagged data to the data area selector27.

The data area selector 27 determines whether the data supplied from theECC decoder 26 is data stored in the single density area of the disc 20or data stored in the double density area thereof (namely, the data isPCM data or compressed data). When the determined result represents thatthe data supplied from the ECC decoder 26 is PCM data, the data issupplied to an error interpolating circuit 29. When the determinedresult represents that the data supplied from the ECC decoder 26 iscompressed data, the data is supplied to a decompressing circuit 28.

The decompressing circuit 28 decompresses the compressed data suppliedfrom the data area selector 27 and supplies the decompressed data to theerror interpolating circuit 29. The error interpolating circuit 29checks whether the error flag has been placed on the data supplied fromthe data area selector 27 and the decompressing circuit 28. The errorinterpolating circuit 29 performs an error interpolating process foraudio data with an error that has not been corrected. The errorinterpolating circuit 29 performs the error interpolating process fordata with an error using data preceded thereby and data followedthereby. The error interpolating circuit 29 supplies the error-correcteddata to a data output speed controlling circuit 30.

The data output speed controlling circuit 30 is provided with a buffermemory. In the data output speed controlling circuit 30, data suppliedfrom the error interpolating circuit 29 is buffered to the buffer memoryso that the data is output at a required data speed (for example, 1.4112Mbps).

Digital data that is supplied from the data output speed controllingcircuit 30 is output through a digital output terminal (not shown) tothe outside of the apparatus. In addition, the digital data is suppliedto a D/A converter 31. The D/A converter 31 converts the digital datasupplied from the data output speed controlling circuit 30 into ananalog audio signal. The analog audio signal is output from an analogoutput terminal (not shown) through an aperture circuit 32, a low passfilter 33, and a line amplifier 34.

An ECC encoder 35 performs an error correcting encoding process for theinput data supplied from the ECC decoder 26 using for example CIRC andsupplies the processed data to a record modulating circuit 36.

The record modulating circuit 36 modulates the data supplied from theECC encoder 35 using EFM (Eight-to-Fourteen Modulation) system andsupplies the modulated data to a record head 38 through a recordamplifier 37.

The record head 38 forms pits on the disc 20 corresponding to the datasupplied through the record amplifier 37 and records the audio data onthe disc 20. When the recording and reproducing apparatus is not usedfor authoring system, but a consumer system, the record head 38 may beof type of which light reflectivity is varied on the disc 20.

An input portion 39 is provided with a three-dimensional jog 2, a stopbutton 3, a rewind button 4, a record button 5, a reproduction button 6,a fast forward button 7, a pause button 8, a volume controller 9, and apower switch (not shown).

The searching data storing portion 41 is composed of for example anon-volatile memory or a magnetic hard disk. The searching data storingportion 41 stores searching data. Examples of the searching data aresearching audio data, number-of-reproduction-times data, audio volumedata, audio quality data, time period data, additional information, andevaluation value. The searching audio data is partial data of a part ofaudio data stored in the disc 20. In more reality, the searching audiodata is data of a beginning portion or a bridge portion of a program ofaudio data stored in the disc 20. The additional information is forexample data such as artist name, album name, song title, and jacketimage corresponding to each audio data stored in the disc 20. Theevaluation value is used to evaluate the similarity of audio data havingthe highest searching reproducing frequency and other audio data.

A content sort calculating portion 42 decides audio data having thehighest reproducing frequency corresponding to thenumber-of-reproduction-times data stored in the searching data storingportion 41 under the control of the content sort calculating portion 42.

A DR average value calculating portion 43 calculates a DR average valueat each predetermined interval (namely, a parameter that represents thesize of an average amplitude of audio data) under the control of thesystem controller 40.

A rhythm average value calculating portion 44 calculates a rhythmaverage value (namely, all the average value of peak intervals in apredetermined band of audio data) under the control of the systemcontroller 40. In this example, the rhythm average value is a parameterthat represents a pitch or speed of beat in a narrow sense.Alternatively, the rhythm average value may be obtained by calculatingan average value of zero crossing intervals.

A similarity calculating portion 45 compares parameters (DR averagevalue and rhythm average value) of audio data having the highestreproducing frequency and those of other audio data and obtains thesimilarity between audio data having the highest reproducing frequencyand each of other audio data. In reality, the similarity calculatingportion 45 calculates (difference between DR average values+differencebetween average values of peak intervals) and outputs the resultantvalue as the evaluation value. As the evaluation value is smaller, thesimilarity of audio data with audio data having the highest reproducingfrequency is higher. Alternatively, the inverse number of (differencebetween DR average values+difference between average values of peakintervals) may be calculated as the evaluation value. In this case, asthe evaluation value is larger, the similarity of audio data with audiodata having the highest reproducing frequency is higher.

A storing portion 46 stores for example information about a searchingscreen displayed on the display portion 10. The system controller 40controls each of the foregoing portions.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an outlined structure of the 3Djog. The 3D jog is provided with a rotary encoder 52 and tact switches53, 54, and 55. The rotary encoder 52 outputs a signal corresponding tothe rotation of a three-dimensional jog stick 51. The tact switches 53,54, and 55 are turned on/off corresponding to the motion of thethree-dimensional jog stick 51. When the three-dimensional jog stick 51is moved as shown in FIG. 4A, the tact switch 55 is turned on. When thethree-dimensional jog stick 51 is moved as shown in FIG. 4B, the tactswitch 53 is turned on. When the three-dimensional jog stick 51 isrotated forward as shown in FIG. 4C, a signal corresponding to theforward rotation of the three-dimensional jog stick 51 is output fromthe rotary encoder 52. When the three-dimensional jog stick 51 isrotated in the backward direction as shown in FIG. 4D, a signalcorresponding to the backward direction of the three-dimensional jogstick 51 is output from the rotary encoder 52. When thethree-dimensional jog stick 51 is pressed as shown in FIG. 4E, the tactswitch 54 is turned on. The user can perform operations for searchingfor data stored in the disc 20 and reproducing the obtained data withonly the three-dimensional jog 2.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining a process for changing searchingaudio data corresponding to the reproducing frequencies of audio data.

At step 101, the system controller 40 determines whether or not areproducing command for a predetermined audio data has been issuedcorresponding to a signal supplied from the input portion 39. When thedetermined result represents that the reproducing command has beenissued, the flow advances to step 102. When the determined resultrepresents that the reproducing command has not been issued, the flowadvances to step 107.

At step 102, the system controller 40 increments thenumber-of-reproduction-times data of the ID of the audio datacorresponding to the reproducing command in searching data stored in thesearching data storing portion 41 and the double density area of thedisc 20.

At step 103, the system controller 40 updates the audio volume data ofthe ID of audio data corresponding to the reproducing command insearching data stored in the searching data storing portion 41 and thedouble density area of the disc 20. In this example, the audio volumedata is updated so that it becomes higher in the order of for examplehigher reproducing frequencies of audio data. Alternatively, the audiovolume data may be updated so that it becomes lower in the order ofhigher reproducing frequencies of audio data.

At step 104, the system controller 40 updates the audio quality data ofthe ID of searching audio data corresponding to the reproducing commandin searching audio data stored in the searching data storing portion 41and the double density area of the disc 20. In this case, the audioquality data of searching audio data is updated so that the samplingfrequencies of searching audio data become lower in the order of higherreproducing frequencies of searching audio data. Thus, as thereproducing frequencies of searching audio data are higher, searchingaudio data are reproduced with higher audio qualities. Alternatively,audio quality data may be updated so that as the reproducing frequenciesof searching audio data are higher, the sampling frequencies ofsearching frequencies become higher. In this case, as the reproducingfrequencies of searching audio data are higher, searching audio data maybe reproduced with lower audio qualities.

At step 105, the system controller 40 updates the time period data ofthe ID of searching audio data corresponding to the reproducing commandin searching data stored in the searching data storing portion 41 andthe double density area of the disc 20. The time period data is updatedso that as the reproducing frequencies are higher, the reproduction timeperiods becomes longer. Alternatively, the time period data may beupdated so that as the reproducing frequencies are higher, thereproduction time periods become shorter. This is because the user hasoften listen to songs that have higher reproducing frequencies, he orshe can recognize songs when they have higher reproducing frequencies inshorter reproduction time periods.

At step 106, the system controller 40 reads searching audio data of theID corresponding to the reproducing command with the audio quality dataand the time period data from the disc 20 and stores the obtainedsearching audio data to the searching data storing portion 41 and thedouble density area of the disc 20.

At step 107, the system controller 40 determines whether or not thepower off operation has been performed corresponding to a signalsupplied from the input portion 39. When the determined resultrepresents that the power off operation has not been performed, the flowadvances to step 101. When the determined result represents that thepower off operation has been performed, the process is completed.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining operations of the systemcontroller 40 that searches for audio data and reproduces the obtainedaudio data.

At step 111, the system controller 40 determines what audio data theuser has selected corresponding to a signal supplied from the inputportion 39. Thereafter, the system controller 40 reads searching audiodata and audio volume data from for example the searching data storingportion 41 corresponding to the ID of data selected by the user. Thesystem controller 40 controls searching audio data corresponding to theaudio volume data and reproduces the controlled searching audio data.

At step S112, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has issued a selected audio data changing command corresponding toa signal supplied form the input portion 39. When the determined resultrepresents that the user has issued the selected audio data changingcommand, the flow advances to step S113. When the determined resultrepresents that the user has not issued the selected audio data changingcommand, the flow advances to step S114.

At step S113, the system controller 40 reads searching audio data andaudio volume data of the ID of the new data from for example thesearching data storing portion 41. The system controller 40 controlssearching audio data corresponding to the audio volume data andreproduces the controlled searching audio data.

At step S114, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has issued a reproducing command corresponding to a signal suppliedfrom the input portion 39. When the determined result represents thatthe user has issued the reproducing command, the flow advances to stepS115. When the determined result represents that the user has not issuedthe reproducing command, the flow advances to step S116.

At step S115, the system controller 40 successively reads audio datacorresponding to the ID of the selected audio data from the disc 20 andreproduces the audio data. In reality, the system controller 40reproduces audio data (the main audio data) recorded on the disc 20seamlessly preceded by searching audio data. When searching audio datastored in the searching data storing portion 41 is audio data of thebeginning portion or the bridge portion of audio data stored in the disc20, the system controller 40 directly reads audio data of the ID of theselected audio data from the disc 20 and seamlessly reproduce audiodata. When searching audio data stored in the searching data storingportion 41 is audio data of the beginning portion or the bridge portionof audio data stored in the disc 20, the system controller 40 readssearching audio data of the ID of the selected data from the searchingdata storing portion 41 and reproduces audio data. In addition, thesystem controller 40 reads audio data corresponding to the ID of theselected audio data from the disc 20 and temporarily writes audio datato the searching data storing portion 41. Thereafter, the systemcontroller 40 reads audio data from the searching data storing portion41 and seamlessly reproduces audio data. In other words, the searchingdata storing portion 41 may be used in common with a shock proof memory.

When required, the system controller 40 may reproduce audio data storedin the disc 20 from the beginning. In this case, when searching audiodata stored in the searching data storing portion 41 is a beginningportion or a bridge portion of audio data stored in the disc 20, thesystem controller 40 directly reads audio data of the selected ID fromthe disc 20 and reproduces audio data from the beginning. When searchingaudio data stored in the searching data storing portion 41 is audio dataof a beginning portion or a bridge portion of audio data stored in thedisc 20, the system controller 40 reads searching audio data of theselected ID from the searching data storing portion 41 and reproducesthe audio data. In addition, the system controller 40 reads audio dataof the selected ID from the disc 20 and temporarily writes audio data tothe searching data storing portion 41. Thereafter, the system controller40 reads audio data from the searching data storing portion 41 andreproduces audio data from the beginning. In other words, the searchingdata storing portion 41 may be used in common with a shock proof memory.

At step S116, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has performed a power off operation corresponding to a signalsupplied from the input portion 39. When the determined resultrepresents that the user has performed the power off operation, theprocess is completed. In contrast, when the determined result representsthat the user has not performed the power off operation, the flowreturns to step 111. At step 111, the foregoing process is repeated. Inother words, at step 111, the selected audio data is repeatedlyreproduced.

As was described above, when audio data are searched and reproduced, theaudio volumes, audio qualities, and reproduction time periods ofsearching audio data are controlled corresponding to the reproducingfrequencies. Thus, the user can intuitively search for his or herdesired audio data.

In addition, since searching audio data are recorded to both the disc 20that stores main audio data and the searching data storing portion 41 ofthe recording and reproducing apparatus, when searching audio datastored in the searching data storing portion 41 of the recording andreproducing apparatus are changed or when the recording and reproducingapparatus is changed to another apparatus and audio data on the disc 20are reproduced by the changed recording and reproducing apparatus,searching data stored in the disc 20 can be used. Thus, the user cansearch audio data in his or her suitable searching method.

In the foregoing example, the reproduction audio volume, reproductionaudio quality, and reproduction time period are controlled correspondingto the reproducing frequencies of audio data. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such an example. In other words, as shown inFIG. 2, a content sort calculating portion 42, a DR average valuecalculating portion 43, a rhythm average value calculating portion 44,and a similarity calculating portion 45 may be disposed. In thestructure, corresponding to the DR average value, the rhythm averagevalue, or the similarity of audio data having the highest reproducingfrequency, the reproduction audio volume, reproduction audio quality,and reproduction time period of each audio data are controlled.Corresponding to the controlled reproduction audio volume, reproductionaudio quality, and reproduction time period, each audio data isreproduced.

Next, a recording and reproducing apparatus according to a secondembodiment of the present invention will be described. According to thefirst embodiment, searching audio data are reproduced corresponding tothe reproduction audio volumes, reproduction audio qualities, andreproduction time periods and they are searched for desired audio data.In contrast, according to the second embodiment, an example of whichaudio data are searched for a desired audio data using symbols displayedon the display portion 10 will be described. The appearance andstructure of the recording and reproducing apparatus according to thesecond embodiment are the same as those according to the firstembodiment. Thus, their description will be omitted.

According to the second embodiment of the present invention, the storingportion 46 stores information about font points of symbols displayed onthe display portion 10, information about display positions of thesymbols, and information about the number of songs.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining a process for calculating thesimilarity of audio data having the highest reproducing frequency andanother audio data.

At step S121, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has issued a reproducing command corresponding to a signal suppliedfrom the input portion 39. When the determined result represents thatthe user has issued the reproducing command, the flow advances to stepS122. When the determined result represents that the user has not issuedthe reproducing command, the flow advances to step S127.

At step S122, the system controller 40 increments thenumber-of-reproduction-times data of the ID of audio data correspondingto the reproducing command in searching data stored in the searchingdata storing portion 41 and the double density area of the disc 20.

At step S123, the content sort calculating portion 42 decides audio datahaving the highest reproducing frequency corresponding to thenumber-of-reproduction-times data stored in the searching data storingportion 41 under the control of the system controller 40.

At step S124, the system controller 40 controls the DR average valuecalculating portion 43 through the similarity calculating portion 45.The DR average value calculating portion 43 calculates a DR averagevalue of all audio data under the control of the system controller 40.In this example, the calculated DR average value of all audio data maybe stored in the searching data storing portion 41.

At step S125, the system controller 40 controls the rhythm average valuecalculating portion 44 through the similarity calculating portion 45.The rhythm average value calculating portion 44 calculates the rhythmaverage value of all audio data under the control of the systemcontroller 40. In this example, the calculated rhythm average value ofall audio data may be stored in for example the searching data storingportion 41.

At step 126, the similarity calculating portion 45 calculates thesimilarity of audio data that has the highest reproducing frequency andanother audio data and stores the calculated similarity to the searchingdata storing portion 41 corresponding to the ID of audio data.

At step S127, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has turned off the power corresponding to a signal supplied fromthe input portion 39. When the determined result represents that theuser has not turned off the power, the flow returns to step S121. Whenthe determined result represents that the user has turned off the power,the process is completed.

In the foregoing similarity calculating process, at steps S124 and S125,the DR average value and the rhythm average value are calculated.However, when the calculated result has been stored in the searchingdata storing portion 41, the calculations at steps S124 and S125 may notbe performed.

FIG. 8 is an example of a display screen of a recommend mode in whichthe user can know the similarities of songs with symbols. In thisexample, the symbols are represented with for example eighth notes. Thesymbols displayed on the display portion 10 correspond to songs of audiodata. The size of each symbol depends on the similarity of thecorresponding song and a song having the highest reproductionsimilarity.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining a symbol displaying process on thedisplay screen in the recommend mode shown in FIG. 8.

At step S131, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has designated the recommend mode corresponding to a signalsupplied from the input portion 39. When the determined resultrepresents that the user has designated the recommend mode, the flowadvances to step S132. When the determined result represents that theuser has not designated the recommend mode, the flow advances to stepS142.

At step S132, the system controller 40 sets a font point stored in thestoring portion 46 to A.

At step S133, the system controller 40 sets coordinate data stored inthe storing portion 46 to (C, D). In this example, the coordinate data(C, D) is coordinate data of the center position of the display portion10.

At step S134, the display portion 10 displays information about symbolindication supplied from the storing portion 46 under the control of thesystem controller 40. In other words, the display portion 10 displays asymbol with the font point A and the symbol coordinate data (C, D).

At step S135, the system controller 40 reads searching audio data havingthe highest reproducing frequency and the start address from the disc 20and stores the searching data to the searching data storing portion 41corresponding to the symbol.

At step S136, the system controller 40 stores the value of which 1 issubtracted from the number of all songs stored on the disc 20 (the valueis referred to the number of remaining songs) to the storing portion 46.

At step S137, the system controller 40 updates data about the symbolindication stored in the storing portion 46. In other words, the systemcontroller 40 updates the font point A and the coordinate data (C, D).The system controller 40 updates the font point A to for example A-1.The system controller 40 updates the coordinate data (C, D) to aposition rotated by a predetermined angle while the distance from thecenter position of the display portion 10 is kept. Alternatively, thesystem controller 40 updates the coordinate data (C, D) to a positionapart from the center position of the display portion 10 by apredetermined distance.

At step S138, the display portion 10 displays a symbol with informationsupplied from the storing portion 46 under the control of the systemcontroller 40. In other words, the display portion 10 displays a symbolwith the font point A and the symbol coordinate data (C, D).

At step S139, the system controller 40 reads audio data having thehighest reproducing frequency and the start address of audio data havingthe next highest reproducing frequency from the disc 20 corresponding tothe similarities stored in the searching data storing portion 41 andstores data and the start address to the searching data storing portion41 corresponding to the symbol.

At step S140, the system controller 40 subtracts 1 from the number ofremaining songs stored in the storing portion 46. In other words, thesystem controller 40 subtracts 1 from the number of remaining songsstored in the storing portion 46 and stores the resultant value as thenumber of remaining songs to the storing portion 46.

At step S141, the system controller 40 determines whether or not thenumber of remaining songs is equal to or smaller than 0. When the numberof remaining songs is 0 or larger, the flow returns to step S137. Atstep S137, the system controller 40 performs the similar process. Inother words, the system controller 40 performs a symbol displayingprocess corresponding to the similarity. In contrast, when thedetermined result represents that the number of remaining songs issmaller than 0, the flow advances to step S142.

At step S142, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has turned off the power corresponding to a signal supplied fromthe input portion 39. When the determined result represents that theuser has not turned off the power, the flow returns to step S131. Whenthe determined result represents that the user has turned off the power,the process is completed.

FIG. 10 shows another example of the display screen in the recommendmode of which the user can know the similarities of songs with symbols.In this example, the symbols are represented with eighth notes. Symbolsdisplayed on the display portion 10 correspond to audio data stored inthe disc 20. The size of each symbol depends on the similarity of eachdata and data having the highest reproducing frequency. The position ofeach symbol depends on the similarity of the amplitude and rhythm of thecorresponding to audio data and those of audio data having the highestreproducing frequency.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart for explaining a symbol displaying process onthe display screen in the recommend mode shown in FIG. 10.

At step S151, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has designated the recommend mode corresponding to a signalsupplied from the input portion 39. When the determined resultrepresents that the user has designated the recommend mode, the flowadvances to step S152. In contrast, When the determined resultrepresents that the user has not designated the recommend mode, the flowadvances to step S162.

At step S152, the system controller 40 stores a font point A of a symbolto the storing portion 46.

At step S153, the system controller 40 stores coordinate data (C, D) tothe storing portion 46. The coordinate data (C, D) is coordinate data ofa graph having an amplitude axis and a rhythm axis displayed on thedisplay portion 10. In this example, the coordinate data (C, D) is(maximum value of coordinate of amplitude axis, maximum value ofcoordinate of rhythm axis). Alternatively, the symbol coordinate data(C, D) may be the amplitude value and the rhythm value of audio datathat has the highest reproducing frequency.

At step S154, the display portion 10 displays a symbol with informationsupplied from the storing portion 46 under the control of the systemcontroller 40. In other words, the display portion 10 displays a symbolwith the font point A and the coordinate data (C, D).

At step S155, the system controller 40 reads searching data for audiodata having the highest reproducing frequency and the start address fromthe disc 20 and stores them to the searching data storing portion 41corresponding to the symbol.

At step S156, the system controller 40 stores the value of which 1 issubtracted from the number of songs stored in the disc 20 as the numberof remaining songs to the storing portion 46.

At step S157, the system controller 40 updates the font point A of thesymbol stored in the storing portion 46 to for example A-1.

At step S158, the display portion 10 displays a symbol with the fontpoint information about the symbol supplied from the storing portion 46(namely, font point A) and the symbol coordinate data (C, D)corresponding to the DR average value and the rhythm average valuesupplied from the searching data storing portion) under the control ofthe system controller 40. In this example, the DR average value is a DRaverage value of audio data having the highest reproducing frequency andaudio data having the next highest reproducing frequency. Likewise, therhythm average value is a rhythm average value of audio data having thehighest reproducing frequency and audio data having the next highestreproducing frequency. The symbol coordinate data (C, D) is coordinatesnormalized by dividing the DR average value and the rhythm average valueof audio data having the highest reproducing frequency and audio datahaving the next highest reproducing frequency by the DR average valueand the rhythm average value of audio data having the highestreproducing frequency.

At step S159, the system controller 40 reads searching data for audiodata having the next highest reproducing frequency and the start addressfrom the disc 20 and stores them to the searching data storing portion41 corresponding to the symbol.

At step S160, the system controller 40 subtracts 1 from the number ofremaining songs stored in the storing portion 46. In other words, thesystem controller 40 subtracts 1 from the number of remaining songsstored in the storing portion 46 and stores the resultant value as thenumber of remaining songs to the storing portion 46.

At step S161, the system controller 40 determines whether or not thenumber of remaining songs is smaller than 0. When the number ofremaining songs is 0 or larger, the flow returns to step S167. At stepS167, the system controller 40 repeats the similar process. In otherwords, the system controller 40 performs the symbol displaying processcorresponding to the similarity. In contrast, when the determined resultrepresents that the number of remaining songs is smaller than 0, theflow advances to step S162.

At step S162, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has turned off the power corresponding to a signal supplied fromthe input portion 39. When the determined result represents that theuser has not turned off the power, the flow returns to step S151. Whenthe determined result represents that the user has turned off the power,the system controller 40 completes the process.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining a process of the systemcontroller 40 that searches for a desired audio data and reproduces thesearched data in the recommend mode shown in FIGS. 8 and 10.

At step S171, the system controller 40 detects whether or not the userhas moved a pointer corresponding to a signal supplied from the displayportion 10. When the detected result represents that the user has movedthe pointer, the flow advances to step S172. In contrast, when thedetected result represents that the user has not moved the pointer, theflow advances to step S174.

At step S172, the system controller 40 determines whether or not thereis a symbol for pointer coordinates corresponding to a signal suppliedfrom the display portion 10. When the determined result represents thatthere is such a symbol, the flow advances to step S173. In contrast,when the determined result represents that there is no such a symbol,the flow advances to step S174.

At step S173, the system controller 40 reads additional information ofaudio data corresponding to the symbol from the searching data storingportion 41 or the disc 20.

At step S174, the system controller 40 displays the system correspondingto the additional information that has been read from the searching datastoring portion 41 at step S173. In addition, the system controller 40reads searching audio data corresponding to the symbol from thesearching data storing portion 41 and reproduces searching audio data.

At step S175, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has pressed the touch panel of the display portion 10 correspondingto a signal supplied from the input portion 39. When the user haspressed the touch panel, the system controller 40 determines that theuser has designated the reproducing operation. At that point, the flowadvances to step S176. In contrast, when the user has not pressed thetouch panel, the system controllers determines that the user has notdesignated the reproducing operation. At that point, the flow advancesto step S177.

At step S176, the system controller 40 reads the start address of audiodata corresponding to the symbol designated by the pointer from forexample the searching data storing portion 41, controls the optical head22 corresponding to the start address, reads audio data from the disc20, and reproduces audio data.

At step S177, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has turned off the power corresponding to a signal supplied fromthe input portion 39. When the determined result represents that theuser has not turned off the power, the flow returns to step S171. Whenthe determined result represents that the user has turned off the power,the system controller 40 completes the process.

In the recording and reproducing apparatus according to the secondembodiment of the present invention, when the user moves the pointer ona symbol, he or she can listen to a beginning portion or a bridgeportion of audio data corresponding to a symbol. While listening to thebeginning portion or the bridge portion, the user searches for his orher desired audio data and designates the reproducing operation for thedesired data. Thus, since the system controller 40 reads audio data fromthe disc 20 and starts reproducing it, the user can easily search forhis or her desired audio data.

A symbol that represents audio data having a higher reproducingfrequency or a similar data occupies a wide area on the display portion10. Thus, the user can easily select a symbol of audio data. In otherwords, the user can easily designates the reproducing operation for asong having a higher reproducing frequency (in other words, a song towhich he or she often listens).

In addition, since symbols of songs similar to a song that has thehighest reproducing frequency are displayed in such a manner that theuser can easily select them on the display screen, he or she can easilyselect his or her favorite song.

In addition, whenever the user reproduces audio data, a systemcorresponding to data is changed. Thus, audio data can be automaticallycustomized to a recording and reproducing apparatus that is the mostsuitable for the user.

Next, a modification of the second embodiment will be described.According to the second embodiment of the present invention, notescorresponding to audio data stored in the disc 20 are displayed assymbols. In contrast, according to the modification of the secondembodiment of the present invention, thumb nails of jacket imagescorresponding to audio data stored in the disc 20 are displayed assymbols. The appearance and structure of the recording and reproducingapparatus according to the modification of the second embodiment of thepresent invention are the same as those of the recording and reproducingapparatus according to the first embodiment, their description will beomitted. In addition, according to the modification of the secondembodiment of the present invention, as searching data, as well as dataaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention, imageinformation of thumb nails of jacket images and so forth are recorded inthe searching data storing portion 41. On the other hand, informationabout font points of symbols displayed on the display portion 10,information about display positions of symbols, information about thenumber of songs, and so forth are stored in the storing portion 46.

Since the process for calculating the similarity of audio data that hasthe highest reproducing frequency and another audio data according tothe modification of the second embodiment is the same as that accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention, the descriptionthereof will be omitted.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the display screen in the recommend mode ofwhich the user can know similarities of songs with thumb nails as jacketimages. The thumb nails as jacket images displayed on the displayportion 10 correspond to audio data stored in the disc 20. The size ofeach thumb nail depends on the similarity of the corresponding to audiodata and audio data that has the highest reproducing frequency. Forexample, as the similarity of audio data and audio data having thehighest reproducing frequency is lower, the size of the correspondingthumb nail becomes smaller. Alternatively, as the similarity of audiodata and audio data having the highest reproducing frequency is lower,the size of the corresponding thumb nail becomes larger. FIG. 13 showsan example of which as the similarity of audio data and audio datahaving the highest reproducing frequency is lower, the size of thecorresponding thumb nail becomes smaller.

Alternatively, the picture quality of each thumb nail may depend on thereproducing frequency of the corresponding data. For example, as thesimilarity of audio data and audio data having the highest reproducingfrequency is lower, the image quality of the thumb nail of thecorresponding data becomes lower. Alternatively, as the similarity ofaudio data and audio data that has the highest reproducing frequency islower, the image quality of a thumb nail of the corresponding databecomes higher. In this case, a lower image quality of a thumb nailresults in lower sharpness and a lower resolution (mosaic image). Incontrast, a higher image quality results in a sharper image and a higherresolution. When thumb nails are displayed in such a manner, the usercan intuitively search audio data corresponding to reproducingsimilarities thereof.

Alternatively, the size and image quality of each thumb nail may dependon the reproducing frequency of a corresponding audio data. For example,as the similarity of audio data and audio data having the highestreproducing frequency is lower, the size of a thumb nail correspondingto data becomes smaller and the image quality of the thumb nail becomeslower. Alternatively, as the similarity of audio data and audio datathat has the highest reproducing frequency is lower, the size of a thumbnail corresponding to data becomes larger and the image quality of thethumb nail becomes higher. When thumb nails are displayed in such amanner, the user can intuitively search audio data corresponding to thereproducing frequencies thereof.

Since the symbol displaying process on the display screen in therecommend mode shown in FIG. 13 and the process for searching for adesired audio data and reproducing it according to the modification arealmost the same as those according to the second embodiment, theirdescription thereof will be omitted.

Next, a recording and reproducing apparatus according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention will be described. According to thesecond embodiment, for example, symbols corresponding to audio data aredisplayed on the display portion 10. In contrast, according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention, symbols corresponding to audio datastored in each data area on the disc 20 are displayed on the displayportion 10. Since the appearance and structure of the recording andreproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention are the same as those of the recording and reproducingapparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention,their description will be omitted.

In addition, according to the third embodiment of the present invention,the storing portion 46 has stored information about GUI (Graphical UserInterface) searching screens in individual searching modes (that will bedescribed later), a searching program, and so forth. The searching datastoring portion 41 has stored information about searching modes ofsearching screens displayed on the display portion 10 and informationabout indication of data areas. The searching screens are switched inthe individual searched modes by executing the searching program storedin the storing portion 46 under the control of the system controller 40.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show examples of searching screens displayed inindividual searching modes. A searching screen 301 is an example of asearching screen in mode 1 (title mode). In the title mode, informationabout audio data stored in the disc 20 is displayed for each album oreach title as a directory. In this example, since a symbol of an albumis different from a symbol of a song, the user can distinguish theformer from the latter. In addition, each symbol may representinformation about a compression system and a modulation system of audiodata. For example, each symbol may represent information such as MP3,ATRAC, AAC, and PCM.

A searching screen 302 is an example of a searching screen in mode 2(artist mode). In the searching screen 302, audio data stored in thedisc 20 are displayed for each artist.

A searching screen 303 is an example of a searching screen in mode 3(recording time mode). In the recording time mode, titles of audio datastored in the disc 20 are sorted and displayed in the order of newertitles.

A searching screen 304 is an example of a searching screen in mode 4(favorite mode). In the favorite mode, titles of audio data arecategorized as several directories corresponding to reproducingfrequencies and titles are displayed in the categorized order. Forexample, on the searching screen 304, titles of audio data stored in thedisc 20 are categorized as high, middle, and low in the order ofreproducing frequencies and titles are displayed in the categorizedorder.

A searching screen 305 is an example of a searching screen in mode 5(rhythm mode). In the rhythm mode, titles of audio data stored in thedisc 20 are categorized corresponding to average values of peakintervals of a predetermined band and the titles are displayed in thecategorized order. For example, on the searching screen 305, titles ofaudio data are categorized as directories high, middle, and low in theorder of higher rhythm average values and titles are displayed in thecategorized order.

A searching screen 306 is an example of a searching screen in mode 6 (DRmode). In the DR mode, titles of audio data stored in the disc 20 arecategorized corresponding to DR average values of predeterminedintervals of audio data and titles are displayed in the categorizedorder. For example, on the searching screen 306, titles of audio datastored in the disc are categorized as three categories high, middle, andlow in the order of higher DR average values and titles are displayed inthe three categorized order.

A searching screen 307 is an example of a searching screen in mode 7(recommend mode 1). In the recommend mode 1, titles of audio data storedin the disc 20 are displayed in the order of similarities with a titleof audio data having the highest reproducing frequency.

A searching screen 308 is an example of a searching screen in mode 8(recommend mode 2). In the recommend mode 2, symbols of audio data aredisplayed in the order of similarities with audio data having thehighest reproducing frequency. For example, on the searching screen 308,symbols of data are displayed with three sizes corresponding tosimilarities with audio data having the highest reproducing frequency.

FIG. 16 shots examples of screens that display audio data stored in thedisc 20 in individual data areas. A screen 310 and a screen 311 areswitchably displayed as a full screen. In this example, the screen 310displays titles of audio data stored in a single density area. Thescreen 311 displays titles of audio data stored in a double densityarea. The screen switching operation between the screen 310 and thescreen 311 will be described later.

A screen 312 is an example of a screen that displays both the screen 310and the screen 311 at a time, not switched. On the screen 312, the usercan browse both the screen 310 and the screen 311 at a time. The screenswitching operation among the screen 310, the screen 311, and the screen312 will be described later.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram for explaining the switching operationfor screens that display respective data areas with a three-dimensionaljog. As shown in FIG. 4A, a three-dimensional jog stick 51 is operated.When a tack switch 55 is turned on, one data area screen is switched toanother data area screen. Whenever the three-dimensional jog stick 51 isoperated and the tact switch 55 is turned on, as shown in FIG. 17, onescreen is switched to another screen in the order of the screen 310, thescreen 311, and the screen 312.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram for explaining the screen switchingoperation for the searching mode screens with the three-dimensional jog.As shown in FIG. 4B, when the three-dimensional jog stick 51 is operatedand the tact switch 53 is turned on, one searching mode screen isswitched to another searching mode screen. Whenever thethree-dimensional jog stick 51 is operated and the tact switch 53 isturned on, as shown in FIG. 18, one searching mode screen is switched toanother searching mode screen in the order of the title mode 301, theartist mode 302, the recording time mode 303, the favorite mode 304, therhythm mode 305, the DR mode 306, the recommend mode 1 (307), and therecommend mode 2 (308).

FIG. 19 is a flow chart for explaining an operation and a process forswitching one mode to another mode using the three-dimensional jog.

At step S181, the system controller 40 monitors a signal supplied fromthe input portion 39 in a low power mode. At that point, the systemcontroller 40 determines whether or not the user has turned on the powerswitch. When the determined result represents that the user has turnedon the power, the flow advances to step S182.

At step S182, the system controller 40 causes the display portion 10 todisplay information about audio data stored on the disc 20 correspondingto data about a searching mode and a data area indication stored in thesearching data storing portion 41.

At step S183, the system controller 40 determines whether or not thethree-dimensional jog stick 51 has been operated as shown in FIG. 4A andthe tact switch 55 has been turned on corresponding to a signal suppliedfrom the input portion 39. When the determined result represents thatthe tact switch 55 has been turned on, the flow advances to step S184.In contrast, when the determined result represents that the tact switch55 has not been turned on, the flow advances to step S185.

At step S184, the system controller 40 switches the current data areaindication to the next data area indication corresponding to data aboutdata area indications stored in the storing portion 46.

At step S185, the system controller 40 determines whether or not thethree-dimensional jog stick 51 has been operated as shown in FIG. 4B andthe tact switch 53 has been turned on corresponding to a signal suppliedfrom the input portion 39. When the determined result represents thatthe tact switch 53 has been turned on, the flow advances to step S186.When the determined result represents that the tact switch 53 has notbeen turned on, the flow advances to step S187.

At step S186, the system controller 40 switches the current searchingmode to the next searching mode corresponding to data about searchingmodes stored in the storing portion 46.

At step S187, the system controller 40 determines whether or not thethree-dimensional jog stick 51 has been rotated in the forward directionas shown in FIG. 4C corresponding to a signal supplied from the inputportion 39. When the determined result represents that thethree-dimensional jog stick 51 has been rotated in the forwarddirection, the flow advances to step S188. When the determined resultrepresents that the three-dimensional jog stick 51 has not been rotatedin the forward direction, the flow advances to step S189.

At step S188, the system controller 40 controls an audio data selectioncursor displayed on the display portion 10 so that the audio dataselection cursor moves to for example the next title.

At step S189, the system controller 40 determines whether or not thethree-dimensional jog stick 51 has been rotated in the backwarddirection as shown in FIG. 4D corresponding to a signal supplied fromthe input portion 39. When the determined result represents that thethree-dimensional jog stick 51 has been rotated in the backwarddirection, the flow advances to step S190. When the determined resultrepresents that the three-dimensional jog stick 51 has not been rotatedin the backward direction, the flow advances to step S191.

At step S190, the system controller 40 controls the display portion 10so that the cursor displayed on the display portion 10 moves to theprevious position.

At step S191, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has pressed the three-dimensional jog stick 51 as shown in FIG. 4Ecorresponding to a signal supplied from the input portion 39. When thedetermined result represents that the user has pressed thethree-dimensional jog stick 51, the flow advances to step S192. When thedetermined result represents that the user has not pressed thethree-dimensional jog stick 51, the flow advances to step S193.

At step S192, the system controller 40 reproduces audio data that hasbeen selected at that point with the selecting cursor.

At step S193, the system controller 40 determines whether or not theuser has turned off the power switch corresponding to a signal suppliedfor the input portion 39. When the determined result represents that theuser has turned off the power switch, the flow advances to step S194.When the determined result represents that the user has not turned offthe power switch, the flow returns to step S182.

At step S194, the system controller 40 stores information about thecurrent searching mode and data area indication to the searching datastoring portion 41.

At step S195, the power is turned off. Thereafter, the process iscompleted.

As was described above, the recording and reproducing apparatusaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention can switchone screen to another screen for each data area of the disc 20, it isnot necessary to display a data area that the user does not need on thedisc 20 (for example, a data area that stores for example commercialdata). As a result, the user can easily search for his or her desiredtitle. In addition, since the user can select his or her desired modefrom a plurality of searching modes, he or she can search for his or herdesired title corresponding to his or her searching purpose. Inaddition, since the user can designate a searching mode for each dataarea, he or she can select a searching mode corresponding to the qualityof stored data. Thus, the user can easily search for his or her desiredtitle.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described indetail, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited tothe foregoing embodiments. Instead, various modifications of theforegoing embodiments are available without departing from the spirit ofthe present invention.

In the forgoing embodiments, the present invention is applied to arecording and reproducing apparatus that searches for a desired audiodata and reproduces the obtained audio data as the searched result.Alternatively, the present invention can be applied to a recording andreproducing apparatus that searches for a desired video data andreproduces the obtained video data as the searched result. In this case,audio quality, audio volume, and time period of audio data arecontrolled. In addition, video size, resolution, and time period ofvideo data are controlled.

In the forgoing embodiments, audio data stored in the disc 20 having asingle density area and a double density area are searched for a desireddata and the searched data is reproduced. Alternatively, audio datastored in a disc having three or more data areas can be searched for adesired data and the searched data can be reproduced.

In addition, according to the forgoing embodiments, searching data arestored to both the disc 20 and the recording and reproducing apparatus.Alternatively, searching data may be stored to at least one of the disc20 and the recording and reproducing apparatus.

In addition according to the first embodiment of the present invention,searching audio data is reproduced corresponding to audio volume data,audio quality data, and time period data. Alternatively, searching audiodata may be reproduced corresponding to at least one of audio volumedata, audio quality data, and time period data. Alternatively, searchingaudio data may be reproduced corresponding to other than the forgoingaudio volume data, audio quality data, and time period data.

According to the second embodiment and the modification thereof, theoperation and process in the case that the display portion 10 is a touchpanel were described. However, the present invention is not limited tosuch a case. For example, a pointer displayed on the display portion 10may be moved with for example a mouse connected to the recording andreproducing apparatus so as to reproduce a designated content.Alternatively, a pointer may be moved by an operation of the inputportion 39 so as to reproduce a designated content.

In addition, according to the second embodiment and the modificationthereof, the sizes of symbols are varied in a constant ratiocorresponding to the similarities with audio data having the highestreproducing frequency. Alternatively, the sizes of symbols may be variedcorresponding to the similarities with audio data having the highestreproducing frequency.

In addition, according to the second embodiment and the modificationthereof, the evaluation value is calculated corresponding to only thedifference of audio data and audio data having the highest reproducingfrequency. Alternatively, the evaluation value of each audio data may becalculated by adding weighted similarities thereof.

In addition, according to the second embodiment and the modificationthereof, the sizes of symbols depend on the similarities thereof.Alternatively, the sizes of symbols may depend on the reproducingfrequencies thereof. For example, as the reproducing frequency of datais lower, the size of the corresponding symbol displayed may becomesmaller or larger.

In addition, according to the second embodiment and the modificationthereof, the font points of symbols are varied and the resultant symbolsare displayed corresponding to the similarities of corresponding data.Alternatively, the colors or shapes of symbols may be variedcorresponding to the similarities of the corresponding contents.

In addition, according to the second embodiment and the modificationthereof, the similarities of audio data that has the highest reproducingfrequency and other audio data are calculated. The symbols of audio dataare displayed corresponding to the similarities of data. Alternatively,the similarities of a particular audio data that the user has designatedand other audio data may be calculated. The symbols may be displayedcorresponding to the similarities of data.

In addition, according to the second embodiment and the modificationthereof, as the similarity of audio data and audio data having thehighest reproducing frequency is lower, the size of the correspondingsymbol becomes larger. Alternatively, as the similarity of audio dataand audio data that has the highest reproducing frequency is lower, thesize of the corresponding symbol may become larger.

In addition, according to the modification of the second embodiment, thesize of a thumbnail is varied corresponding to the similarity of audiodata and audio data having the highest reproducing frequency.Alternatively, the image quality of a thumbnail may be variedcorresponding to the similarity of audio data and audio data having thehighest reproducing frequency. For example, as the similarity of audiodata and audio data having the highest reproducing frequency is lower,the image quality of the corresponding thumbnail becomes moredeteriorated and thereby more dimmed. Alternatively, as the similarityof audio data and audio data having the highest reproducing frequencybecomes lower, the image quality of the corresponding thumbnail may bemore improved and thereby more clearly displayed. Alternatively, theimage quality of a thumbnail may be varied corresponding to thereproducing frequency of audio data rather than the similarity of audiodata and audio data having the highest reproducing frequency. Forexample, as the reproducing frequency of audio data is lower, the imagequality of the corresponding thumbnail may be more deteriorated andthereby more dimmed. Alternatively, as the reproducing frequency ofaudio data is lower, the image quality of the corresponding thumbnailmay be more improved and thereby more clearly displayed.

In addition, since the recording and reproducing apparatuses accordingto the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the modification of thesecond embodiment, and the third embodiment can be accomplished with thesame structure, a combination of a plurality of searching methodsaccording to the forgoing embodiments can be used with one recording andreproducing apparatus so as to search for a desired data. For example,the searching method according to the first embodiment and the searchingmethod according to the second embodiment may be combined. In otherwords, when a symbol corresponding to audio data stored in the disc 20is designated by a pointer, audio data may be reproduced with audiovolume, audio quality, and time corresponding to the reproducingfrequency.

In addition, searching audio data stored in the searching data storingportion 41 may be processed as follows. In other words, the startportion and the last portion of searching audio data are formed as afade-in area and a fade-out area, respectively.

In addition, searching audio data may be processed using other than theencoding system for main audio data. Since the audio quality ofsearching audio data is not so important, data may be compressed using acompression system that has a higher compression ratio than that used inmain audio data. For example, searching audio data may be processedusing an encoding method having a high compression ratio such as MP3(MPEG1 Audio Layer III), ADPCM (Adaptive Differential Pulse CodeModulation). As a result, the data amount stored in the searching datastoring portion 41 can be decreased. In other words, the hardware scaleof the searching data recording portion 41 can be reduced. In addition,the cost of the searching data storing portion 41 can be decreased.

Since the decoding time of searching audio data should be short,searching audio data may be encoded using an encoding method whoseencoding time is shorter than the encoding method used for main audiodata. For example, searching audio data may be processed using anencoding method having a high compression ratio such as MP3 (MPEG1 AudioLayer III) or ADPCM (Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation). Thus,the decoding time necessary for decoding a searching audio data can bedecreased.

In addition, searching audio data may be generated using another audiosource. In this case, main audio data is recorded on 5.1 channels. Onthe other hand, searching audio data is recorded in stereo on 2channels.

As was described above, according to the present invention, searchingaudio data that is reproduced as the searched result of a user's desiredaudio data varies in audio volume, audio quality, and time perioddepending on the reproducing frequency of audio data. Thus, the user canintuitively search for his or her desired audio data.

In addition, since searching data is stored in both a disc that storesmain audio data and a searching data storing portion of the recordingand reproducing apparatus, even if searching data stored in thesearching data storing portion of the recording and reproducingapparatus is changed or when the recording and reproducing apparatus ischanged to another apparatus and audio data stored in the disc isreproduced by the other recording and reproducing apparatus, using thesame searching data stored in the disc, the user can search for his orher desired audio data in his or her suitable searching method.

In addition, when the user moves a pointer on a symbol, he or she canlisten to a beginning portion or a bridge portion of audio datacorresponding to the symbol. While listening to that, the user cansearch for his or her desired audio data. When the user designates thereproduction for the desired audio data, the desired audio data is readfrom the disc and audio data is reproduced. Thus, the user can easilysearch for his or her desired audio data and reproduce the obtainedaudio data as the searched result.

In addition, since a symbol that represents audio data having a highreproducing frequency or audio data similar thereto occupies a largearea on the display portion, the user can easily designate thereproduction of a song having a high reproducing frequency (namely, asong to which he or she often listens).

In addition, since a symbol of a song that is similar to a song having ahigh reproducing frequency is displayed in such a manner that they canbe easily selected, the user can easily select his or her favoritesongs.

In addition, whenever the user reproduces audio data, the correspondingsymbol is varied. Thus, the symbol of audio data can be automaticallycustomized to a recording and reproducing apparatus that is suitable forthe user.

In addition, symbols that are displayed vary corresponding to thesimilarities. Thus, since the user can visually know similarities ofsongs, he or she can intuitively search for his or her desired song. Asa result, the user can easily search for his or her desired song in ashort time.

In addition, since a screen can be switched for each data area of astorage medium, it is not necessary to display a data area that the userdoes not desire (for example, CM data). Thus, the user can easily searchfor his or her desired title.

In addition, since the user can select one mode from a plurality ofsearching modes, he or she can search for his or her desired datacorresponding to his or her searching purpose.

In addition, since the user can designate a searching mode screen foreach data area, he or she can designate a searching mode correspondingto the quality of data stored in the disc. Thus, the user can easilysearch for his or her desired title.

1-40. (canceled)
 41. A reproducing apparatus, comprising: a displaycontroller for controlling a display to display symbols corresponding toaudio or video data, the symbols being arranged based on attributes ofthe audio or video data; a designating unit for designating a symboldisplayed on said display so as to designate desired data; a reproducingunit for reproducing a part of said desired data designated by a firstdesignation from a storage; and a controller to cause said reproducingunit to reproduce said desired data from the beginning according to asecond designation of said designating unit.
 42. The reproducingapparatus according to claim 41, wherein the attributes of the audio orvideo data includes at least one of a reproducing frequency, a rhythm,and an amplitude for each audio or video data.
 43. The reproducingapparatus according to claim 41, wherein said reproducing unitreproduces the beginning portion of the audio or video data as the partof said desired data according to the first designation.
 44. Thereproducing apparatus according to claim 41, wherein said reproducingunit reproduces the bridge portion of the audio or video data as thepart of said desired data according to the first designation.
 45. Areproducing method, comprising the steps of: controlling a display todisplay symbols corresponding to audio or video data, the symbols beingarranged based on attributes of the audio or video data; designating asymbol displayed on said display so as to designate desired data;reproducing a part of said desired data designated by a firstdesignation from a storage; and reproducing said desired data from thebeginning according to a second designation.
 46. The reproducing methodaccording to claim 45, wherein the attributes of the audio or video dataincludes at least one of a reproducing frequency, a rhythm, and anamplitude for each audio or video data.
 47. The reproducing methodaccording to claim 45, wherein the beginning portion of the audio orvideo data is reproduced as the part of said desired data according tothe first designation.
 48. The reproducing method according to claim 45,wherein the bridge portion of the audio or video data is reproduced asthe part of said desired data according to the first designation.
 49. Acomputer-readable medium on which a program that causes a computer toexecute a reproducing method is stored, the method comprising the stepsof: controlling a display to display symbols corresponding to audio orvideo data, the symbols being arranged based on attributes of the audioor video data; designating a symbol displayed on said display so as todesignate desired data; reproducing a part of said desired datadesignated by a first designation from a storage; and reproducing saiddesired data from the beginning according to a second designation. 50.The computer-readable medium according to claim 49, wherein theattributes of the audio or video data includes at least one of areproducing frequency, a rhythm, and an amplitude for each audio orvideo data.
 51. The computer-readable medium according to claim 49,wherein the beginning portion of the audio or video data is reproducedas the part of said desired data according to the first designation. 52.The reproducing method according to claim 49, wherein the bridge portionof the audio or video data is reproduced as the part of said desireddata according to the first designation.